Public Agenda (Accra)
Amos Safo
11 August 2008
opinion
Accra — On daily basis attacks on media and journalists across the world are on the increase.
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) on July 28 condemned the Hamas leadership in Gaza "for arresting Palestinian journalists working for national and foreign media and confiscating media equipments."
A group of masked militants, who identified themselves as the "internal security service" of the Hamas government in Gaza arrested Sawah Abu Saif, a Palestinian cameraman working for the German public service TV station ARD. Another Palestinian journalist, Fuaad Abu Jaradah, was also arrested in the same night.
Armed members of Hamas also invaded the offices of Palestinian News and Information Agency (WAFA) and confiscated its equipments and closed the agency down.
Similar raids targeted the Gaza media center, which is the headquarters for Abu Dhabi TV, Fox News and Sky News.
"The IFJ asks those responsible in Hamas to immediately release the detained journalists" said Aidan White, IFJ General Secretary. "We also demand an apology for all media organizations affected by these actions and an commitment by Hamas that those involved will be held accountable."
The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate (PJS), the IFJ affiliate in Palestine, condemned these latest attacks on journalists and media organisations. It demanded in a statement over the weekend "the immediate release of journalists being held in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank."
Similarly, the IFJ and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) condemned several serious attacks on journalists covering a demonstration by supporters of Serbian war criminal suspect Radovan Karadzic in the centre of Belgrade.
As a result of the attacks at least two cameramen were injured.
Oscar Martinez, from the Spanish public television, TVE, had his camera broken and he was treated in hospital after being hit with an iron bar.
In Philippines the National Union of Journalists (NUJP) challenged the government to "get its act together" in finally putting a stop to attacks on journalists.
In a statement, NUJP chairman Jose Torres Jr said the authorities should get the blame for the attack on General Santos City broadcaster Dennis Cuesta who was shot Monday afternoon.
"The government must issue an unequivocal message that it is ending the culture of impunity by putting its act together and by addressing the attacks on media," Torres said.
"Get the perpetrators, even more important, get the masterminds, and ensure their swift prosecution and punishment. Stop the killings and assaults. Set an example by halting any attempt to try to stifle the media," he added.
In April, journalists Benefredo Acabal and Marcos Mataro were gunned down in two separate shooting incidents. Acabal was killed in Pasig City while Mataro shot dead in Pampanga.
On June 30, Quezon province radio broadcaster Bert Sison was shot dead inside his car.
"The attacks...on media practitioners only prove the failure of the government to fulfill its paramount obligation to protect its citizens," Torres stressed.
Here in Ghana, the Ghana Journalists Association has also expressed shock at the attacks on journalists during the voter registration exercise. In apparent reference to the attacks on Radio Gold journalists, the President of the GJA, Mr. Ransford Tetteh last Wednesday appealed to Ghanaians to desist from attacking journalists who are discharging their legitimate duties.
I quite rightly agreed with Mr. Tetteh that anyone who disagrees with the work of journalists is entitled to first complain to the National Media Commission or go to court to seek redress. To take the law into your hands and beat up journalists when their work or investigations are deemed unpleasant is unacceptable.
I am yet to see any profession on this planet whose members do not commit mistakes. Members of some professions even commit mistakes that cost the lives of several people every year, yet these are swept under the carpet. Instances where patients have died through wrong diagnosis and prescriptions abound. Another example is what happens in the judicial service. When a judge in a lower court makes a ruling and a higher court overturns the ruling, the judge at the lower court is deemed to have made a mistake, and that is where it ends. No one beats up the judge or threatens to kill him/her, though they do have a fair share of verbal assaults. When it comes to journalists, the easiest route is threats and beating up as illustrated in the above case across the world.
I am always the first to caution journalists to use their power as the fourth estate of the realm cautiously. Though it is our role to be watchdogs over the government and its departments and agencies, careless use of such powers attracts public backlash.
Last week I followed the clash between Ghana Palaver and the office of the President following an article the paper published on the so-called impending reshuffling within the military command . In its haste 'to go to town' Palaver made an unforgivable mistake of failing to cross check its facts. A rejoinder signed by the President's press secretary, Mr. Andrew Awuni pointed out that one of the top military officers lined up in the security shakeup had died some years back. When newspapers make such avoidable mistakes, they open themselves up to danger. If it was Ghana of yester years, the paper and its editor would have spent the next several days in police cells. Thank God there is now some semblance of press freedom in this era.
I listened to one newspaper morning show host talk to the NPP's General Secretary, Nana Ohene Ntow on the issue. Nana was of the view that when newspapers publish some stories meant to cause mischief, radio stations only have to ignore them. Nana feels that radio stations are encouraging irresponsible journalism by using their platforms to promote them. Honestly, sometimes I feel sad hearing some bizarre reports being given so much premium, only for them to turn out as lies or half truths. I complained to a good friend of mine who hosts a morning show recently about how our society is pandering to stories to such reports and the need for journalists to chart a new path in line with our desire for sustainable development.' He agreed with me and promised to take note.
Election 2008 is four months away, and I bet, unless journalists refine the way we report political issues, desperate politicians are going to vent their anger on us. We need to make the politicians respect us by staying above board. Of course politicians have the right to get at politicians masquerading as 'journalists.'
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 Public Agenda. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
